New member. New project.

[rowie]

Hi All,

I have been a member for awhile and thought I would say G'day and ask a couple of questions, if I can I live in North QLD and picked up this basket case 03/84 RZ350 for the princely sum of 2 cartons of Carlton Mid stubbies It was sitting in a farm shed for at least 8 years and looks very sad. (click thumbnail for bigger image)

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I picked it up in January and resisted starting to tear it down due to restoring a 1990 DR650RS which was in about the same condition as the RZ. The DR is 99% finished and I decided to look into what the RZ needs and if it will be worthwhile doing a full resto or stripping it for parts. It needs a total restoration and it doesn't run because there is no spark. The previous owner said it would run on Aerostart Probably wont be worth much as parts either, seeing as everything is stuffed The only missing part is the belly pan.

On to the questions...

Matching numbers refers to what exactly? For this bike, the engine number starts with 1AH, VIN starts with 35G, and the barrels are 31K

Can the shock be rebuilt?

There is a rubber belt under the battery, which I presume is for setting the shock preload. Is there an after market alternative?

The rear brake caliper has a Scandinavian Brake System (SBS) sticker on it. Is this stock?

Is there anyway to tell what colour scheme it originally had? With the black frame, I'm guessing it looked like this:



Looking at that photo again, I'm wondering if the barrels and head have been changed, seeing as they are black in the photo and mine are bare alloy.

That's all I can think of at the moment, and I'm certain there will be more questions to come.

Cheers,
David.

[OzzyElsie]

Welcome .

You have already restored so you'll know the basics. That's a very original RZ and as a 350 very desirable.

As to resto or part out that is your call and a close call if you talk money only. But we don't restore to make money do we . But your RZ is very restoreable regardless of it appearance.

The barrels would have been painted black. They are now heavily oxidized from the weather. They'll clean up.

The Scandinavian Brake System (SBS) sticker is just that, a sticker - refers to aftermarket pads not the caliper.

The shock could be rebuilt but the better, and probably cheaper, alternative is to replace it aftermarket.

Your pipes look remarkably ding free.

Good luck. There is plenty of help waiting on the forum if you need help or inspiration.

[JonW]

Nice early YPVS there. Looks like an engine swap as they usually match the frame number, but thats not a huge problem.

Restoring these takes a lot of cash, making the faster and modding them costs the same or a bit less, your call. Ive done both...

[L.B.]

Hi n welcome to forum.
Def have a good start for resto,evdrything is there & as mentioned in pretty good nick considering its age.
Plus side is its only cost you 2 cartons so far....
Rebuild it & ride the wheels off it you wont regret it ;-)

[BRG1200]

two cartons of beer? F**k me, why does that never happen to me? Good catch there mate. Much of the RD/RZ stuff is pretty much interchangeable with a few points and diffrences to note, I'd think your bike a bloody good start point, and if you trawl about for long enough you will get a belly pan, a split but complete one went on ebay last week for $35AU inc postage (unusually cheap though).
That black paint scheme is my favourite, and pretty unusual, never seen one like that in the flesh.
There's a guy in the UK known as Simon5, does really good decal sets. Can't tell you how to get hold of him, I got a really good 350LC Mars Bar sticker set off him years ago, when I had an LC in the UK before coming to Oz. I showed it to a signage guy I know and he reckoned the set to be top quality.


Go for it.

[BRG1200]

Sounds like you weren't really perviously (perviously!?) into RD's/RZ's, forgive me if wrong.
There is such a scene for these things that almost anything can be done budget permitting. Look up Hagon for shocks, amongst others, British but supplied in Oz too.
RDLC Crazy (.co.uk?) in the UK, bloke called Norbo, really well known, doing it for years, does all sorts of new reproduction parts, including new reproduction looms.
Yambits.com for all sorts of general parts.
NK Racing (UK) for special parts and ideas.

There's a French bloke called Xavier who has a really incredibly useful site that pretty well documents all the significant RD/RZ models including all the main engine and frame number prefixes - as you have a replacement motor you can work out pretty quickly exactly what you've got. Genius (and as an Englishman you won't hear me say that about a frenchie very often):
http://www.rd350lc.net/index.htm
1AH is the 1985 fully faired 350, essentially the same bike as the earliest model that you've got - so the engine is totally compatible I think.

If you decide to go nuts there is also a huge scene transplanting Banshee quad engines and other power related aftermarket parts like Athena top end sets, PWK carbs and so on. If your engine proves to be rusted out or otherwise stuffed this may be a good direction for you.
Good example of the tasteful and well crafted end of this Banshee related scene is JonW on this site - has his own site mentioned on another thread - more genius, less begrudgingly acknowledged coz he doesn't eat frogs.

Endless websites all over the world including holland and france etc.

Fuck it, I just went halves with a mate on a knackered old $500 DT250 coz current circumstances don't allow an RZ and you've picked up a whole one for two cartons, my hat comes off to you sir! Not too shabby.

Come on guys, time to spit up our various sources and suppliers!

[BRG1200]

...and do paint it in that black and red scheme, it looks the mutts nuts

[DuncanB]

What a fucking bargain... Not only 2 cartons, but 2 cartons of Carlton mid! My basket case RD cost me a heap more beer tokens than that.
I loved the first RZ, great bike. Good luck with the rebuild.

[rowie]

Thanks for the info blokes. I have only just started researching and have found and bookmarked the major RZ/RD sites. Only need to find the cheapest source of OEM parts because I'm a tight arse

Welcome .

You have already restored so you'll know the basics. That's a very original RZ and as a 350 very desirable.

For sure. My first road bike was an RD250LC (about 25 years ago) and always thought about upgrading to an RZ350 or 500. Started chasing women and the thoughts of upgrading remained just that. Should have stuck with bikes though. Would have worked out cheaper and less stressfull

As to resto or part out that is your call and a close call if you talk money only. But we don't restore to make money do we . But your RZ is very restoreable regardless of it appearance.

There is no way in hell I will ever recoup the money I spent on the DR. Got a couple of insurance quotes for it and the highest value was $1750. That's about 500 bucks less than what I spent on engine parts alone! It was one of those projects where the deeper I dug, the more problems I found and it got to a stage where I figured that I had already spent a shit load of money on it, then I might as well spend a shit load more to finish it properly. Here is a before pic:



And how it looks as of an hour ago. Don't mind the crap on the bench. Need to have a clean up

The barrels would have been painted black. They are now heavily oxidized from the weather. They'll clean up.

The Scandinavian Brake System (SBS) sticker is just that, a sticker - refers to aftermarket pads not the caliper.

The shock could be rebuilt but the better, and probably cheaper, alternative is to replace it aftermarket.

Your pipes look remarkably ding free.

Good luck. There is plenty of help waiting on the forum if you need help or inspiration.

It looks like it hasn't had any high speed slides down the bitumen, which would explain the ding and scratch free pipes. I have access to a large bead blasting cabinet and cleaning alloy parts is no problem. Might strip it down to the frame and check to see if it is bent/twisted or has had any repairs before making a final decision.

Nice early YPVS there. Looks like an engine swap as they usually match the frame number, but thats not a huge problem.

Restoring these takes a lot of cash, making the faster and modding them costs the same or a bit less, your call. Ive done both...

If I do restore, it will be to stock condition. A few mates said I should put a high compression piston and lumpy cam in the DR, but they didn't have to kick start the bastard! A stock engine will have more than enough power for me.

two cartons of beer? F**k me, why does that never happen to me? Good catch there mate. Much of the RD/RZ stuff is pretty much interchangeable with a few points and diffrences to note, I'd think your bike a bloody good start point, and if you trawl about for long enough you will get a belly pan, a split but complete one went on ebay last week for $35AU inc postage (unusually cheap though).
That black paint scheme is my favourite, and pretty unusual, never seen one like that in the flesh.
There's a guy in the UK known as Simon5, does really good decal sets. Can't tell you how to get hold of him, I got a really good 350LC Mars Bar sticker set off him years ago, when I had an LC in the UK before coming to Oz. I showed it to a signage guy I know and he reckoned the set to be top quality.


Go for it.

Funny thing is, the bike was in the shed of my bosses neighbour and I never noticed it the few times I have been there. I asked him about and he said he gave it to the bloke I got it from. Mentioned that fact to him and he said the 2 cartons were payment for him to go and get it. Bastard! I found the site with the decal sets and also the paint codes, so that it a start.

...and do paint it in that black and red scheme, it looks the mutts nuts

Definitely. Then it would look similar to the DR I will check out the sites you listed. Not too keen on getting parts from Europe because the freight cost is friggin ridiculous! But I think it's not too bad from the UK.

What a fucking bargain... Not only 2 cartons, but 2 cartons of Carlton mid! My basket case RD cost me a heap more beer tokens than that.
I loved the first RZ, great bike. Good luck with the rebuild.

I'm beginning to think I did well with this I usually miss out on good bargains, so it's good to get lucky once in awhile

Thanks again everyone. Progress will be slow, but I will keep updating when something comes up.

Cheers,
David.

[twinrock]

man thats serious work to get even back to stock..and alot of cash if u cant do it all your self..but they are a very simple machine
depend what end result ur after ..if it was me..id spend my money on up grades rather then rebuilding old parts, ie brakes suspension the cost of over haul will be the same as replacing with better modern parts and far less work..and can be done tastefully
i noticed it has got a different rear disc..!! good luck plenty of good info here..
p.s invest in a sand blaster..he he

[rowie]

Blokes,

I have decided to sell the RZ and tried to get it running today. It has spark when the kill switch is turned on (duh!) so I used a 2300rpm drill with an adapter socket to turn it over fast. It would only fart and pop when spraying fuel directly into the carb throat. Took one of the plugs out to check the compression and there was nothing. Took both plugs out, blocked the holes with my fingers and wound it over. There's maybe 5psi pressure in the right cylinder . Bugger! I'm guessing the head gasket is shagged and the air is just crossing over from one side to the other. Or maybe something else (hole in a piston?) I won't bother pulling it apart to find out what it wrong.

I am open to offers if anyone is interested in a massive project

Cheers,
David.

[DuncanB]

I'll give you 4 cartons of carlton mid... Double your money in less than a year!! Good going in any market!!

[JonW]

Shame i dont like closer... Id be in a for a beer bididng war with Duncan